JP7328266B2 - Communication device, control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a communication device, control method and program.

2. Description of the Related Art A communication system is known that allows a user to input print setting information in a terminal device such as a personal computer, and causes a communication device such as a printer to process a print job based on the input print setting information.

In such a communication system, a terminal device acquires information (media information) about a recording medium held by the communication device, and stores content according to the acquired media information as print setting information that can be selected by the user. displayed on the display.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200000 describes a multifunction device that transmits recording paper information in a paper feed tray to an information processing terminal, and displays a print instruction screen reflecting the recording paper information received from the multifunction device. An information processing terminal for receiving input of print settings is disclosed.

JP 2010-163242

By the way, for example, a recording medium such as a disk medium is usually set in a communication device by a user immediately before printing, and therefore is not held in the communication device when media information is transmitted. Therefore, in the form described in Patent Document 1, information on a recording medium that is not held in the communication device may not be transmitted to the terminal device as media information when transmitting media information. As a result, the user's convenience may deteriorate because the user cannot select, as the print setting information, the content corresponding to the information on the recording medium that is not held in the communication device when the media information is transmitted.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

In order to achieve the above object, the printing apparatus of the present invention includes a first holding unit capable of holding a disk-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information, and a second recording medium different from the first recording medium. A printing apparatus having a holdable second holding unit, comprising: receiving means for receiving a registration operation from a user for registering a recording medium held by the second holding unit; receiving means for receiving a request for acquiring information from the printing apparatus; and information regarding the first recording medium and the second recording registered by the registration operation in response to receiving the request. transmitting means for transmitting both information about a medium to the terminal device; and executing printing on at least one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium based on print setting information received from the terminal device. and printing means, wherein the printing means prints data on the first recording medium or the second recording medium based on information transmitted from a printer driver of the terminal device according to a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). It is characterized in that it can be printed against .
Further, the printing apparatus has a first holding unit capable of holding a disc-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information, and a second holding unit capable of holding a second recording medium different from the first recording medium, a receiving means for receiving a request from a terminal device for the terminal device to acquire information from the printing device; a detecting means for detecting whether the second recording medium is held in the second holding unit; transmitting means for transmitting both information about the first recording medium and information about the second recording medium detected by the detecting means to the terminal device in response to the request being received; and the terminal device. printing means for executing printing on at least one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium based on print setting information received from a printer driver of the terminal device ; The first recording medium or the second recording medium can be printed on the basis of information transmitted by a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol).
Further, the printing apparatus has a first holding unit capable of holding a disc-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information, and a second holding unit capable of holding a second recording medium different from the first recording medium, a receiving means for receiving a request from a terminal device for the terminal device to acquire information from the printing device, and a registration operation for registering the recording medium held by the second holding unit, receiving means for receiving, in response to receiving the request, information about the first recording medium, and information about the plurality of second recording media that can be held by the second holding unit registered by the registration operation; transmitting means for transmitting both information related to the second recording medium to the terminal device by communication using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol); printing means for executing printing on at least one of a medium and the first recording medium, wherein the printing means is transmitted from a printer driver of the terminal device by a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). It is characterized in that it is possible to print on the first recording medium or the second recording medium based on the information obtained .

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve user convenience in print setting operations.

1 is a configuration diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. A sequence diagram showing media information registration processing according to the embodiment of the present invention. A diagram showing an example of a media information registration screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the disc media tray according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a process in which the terminal device causes the communication device to execute printing according to the embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart showing media information notification determination processing executed by the communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen according to the embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flow chart showing print processing executed by a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a table used in the printing method specifying process executed by the communication apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; A diagram showing an example of a permission setting screen in the embodiment of the present invention

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be exemplified below with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the present invention includes any modifications and improvements made to the embodiments described below based on the ordinary knowledge of those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Enter should be understood.

(First embodiment)
A terminal device and a communication device included in the communication system of this embodiment will be described. As the terminal device, a personal computer (PC) is exemplified in this embodiment, but the terminal device is not limited to this. That is, various devices such as a mobile terminal, a smart phone, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a digital camera can be applied as the terminal device. Further, although an inkjet printer is exemplified as a communication device in this embodiment, it is not limited to this, and any device capable of notifying the terminal device of media information, which will be described later, may be used. Therefore, the communication apparatus of the present embodiment may be a printer of various methods such as an electrophotographic method using toner or a sublimation method. In this embodiment, a communication device having only an image forming function is shown. It is good also as a compound device which added. Also, various types of recording media (recording media or recording sheets) for image forming processing can be used as long as they are capable of image forming processing. For example, white plain paper or photo paper, colored paper other than white, film, special paper of metallic color to which aluminum is laminated, OHP sheet, or the like can be used. Further, the communication device may be a device capable of printing not only on cut sheets that have been cut in advance to a predetermined size, but also on continuous sheets. Further, the communication apparatus is not limited to one that performs color printing using printing agents of multiple colors, and may be one that performs monochrome printing using only black (including gray). In addition, printing controlled by the communication device is not limited to printing of visible images, but may be printing of images that are invisible or difficult to see, wiring patterns, physical patterns in manufacturing parts, base sequences of DNA It may be printing of various things such as. In other words, as a communication device, various types of devices can be used as long as they can apply the recording agent to the recording medium.

First, the configuration of the communication system of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. Also, in this embodiment, the following configuration is described as an example, but the functions are not particularly limited as shown in this figure.

The communication system of this embodiment includes a terminal device 110 that generates a print job, and a communication device 120 that receives the print job from the terminal device and executes printing according to the print job.

The terminal device 110 includes a CPU 111 , a ROM 112 , a RAM 113 , a communication section 114 , an operation section 115 and a display section 116 .

The CPU 111 is a system control unit, and controls the entire terminal device 110 by executing programs stored in the ROM 112 and activating hardware. Note that in the present embodiment, the CPU 111 generates a print job for causing the communication device 120 to execute printing.

The ROM 112 stores fixed data such as a control program executed by the CPU 111, a data table, and an embedded operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) program. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 112 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the control of the built-in OS stored in the ROM 112 .

The RAM 113 is a memory configured by an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or the like. The RAM 113 may hold data by a primary battery for data backup (not shown). In that case, the RAM 113 can store important data such as program control variables without volatilization. The RAM 113 also includes a memory area for storing setting information of the terminal device 110, management data of the terminal device 110, and the like. The RAM 113 is also used as the main memory and work memory of the CPU 111 .

The communication unit 114 is a component for executing data communication by connecting with a device such as the communication device 120 . When connecting to the communication device 120, the communication unit 114 connects to an access point (not shown) within the communication device 120, for example. By connecting the communication unit 114 and the access point in the communication device, the terminal device 110 and the communication device 120 can communicate with each other. Note that the communication unit 114 may communicate directly with the communication device 120 by wireless communication, or may communicate via an external device existing outside the terminal device 110 or the communication device 120 . Note that the external device includes a device capable of relaying communication, such as an external access point (access point 140 or the like) existing outside the terminal device 110 or the communication device 120, or an external server. Examples of wireless communication methods include Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark). Note that the communication unit 114 may be connected to another device by a wired LAN, USB (Universal Serial Bus), or the like, instead of by a wireless communication method. Also, examples of external access points include devices such as wireless LAN routers.

In the present embodiment, a method in which the terminal device 110 and the communication device 120 are directly connected without using an external device such as an external access point is called a direct connection method. A system in which the terminal device 110 and the communication device 120 are connected via an external device is called an infrastructure connection system. In this embodiment, the terminal device 110 transmits a print job for causing the communication device 120 to print via the communication unit 114 . Note that jobs to be transmitted are not limited to print jobs, and include a scan job for causing the communication apparatus 120 to perform scanning, a copy job for causing the communication apparatus 120 to perform copying, and a job for changing the settings of the communication apparatus 120 . It may be a setting command or the like.

An operation unit 115 is an interface for receiving input from a user, and is configured by a physical keyboard, buttons, a touch panel, and the like. Note that in the present embodiment, the terminal device 110 receives input of setting information necessary for generating a print job from the user via the operation unit 115 .

The display unit 116 includes an LED (light emitting diode), an LCD (liquid crystal display), and the like, and displays data and notifies the state of the communication device 120 . The terminal device 110 has a soft keyboard provided on the display unit 116 with keys such as a numeric input key, a mode setting key, an enter key, a cancel key, and a power key. input may be accepted. That is, at least a part of the display unit 116 and the operation unit 115 may be integrated. For example, the screen output and the reception of user operations may be performed on the same screen.

The communication device 120 includes a CPU 121, a ROM 122, a RAM 123, a communication section 124, a printing section 125, a paper feed section 126, a disk media supply section 127, an operation section 128, a paper detection section 129, a disk media detection section 130, and a display section 131. ing.

The CPU 121 is a system control unit, and controls the entire terminal device 110 by executing programs stored in the ROM 112 and activating hardware.

The ROM 122 stores fixed data such as control programs executed by the CPU 121, data tables, built-in programs, and OS programs. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 122 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the control of the built-in OS stored in the ROM 122 .

A RAM 123 is a memory configured by an SRAM, a DRAM, or the like. The RAM 123 may hold data by a primary battery for data backup (not shown). In that case, the RAM 123 can store important data such as program control variables without volatilization. The RAM 113 also includes a memory area for storing setting information of the terminal device 110, management data of the terminal device 110, and the like. The RAM 123 is also used as the main memory and work memory of the CPU 121 .

The communication unit 124 is a component for executing data communication by connecting with devices such as the terminal device 110 and the access point 140 . The communication unit 124 has an access point for connecting to devices such as the terminal device 110 as an access point inside the communication device 120 . By connecting the access point and the communication unit 114, the communication unit 124 can directly communicate with the terminal device 110 by wireless communication. Note that the communication unit 124 may communicate directly with the terminal device 110 or may communicate via the access point 140 . Examples of wireless communication systems include Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark). Note that the communication unit 124 may be connected to another device by a wired LAN, USB, or the like instead of the wireless communication method. Further, the communication unit 124 may include hardware functioning as an access point, or may operate as an access point by software for functioning as an access point. In this embodiment, the communication device 120 receives various jobs from the terminal device 110 via the communication unit 124 .

The printing unit 125 performs an image forming process (image forming process ( print processing) and output the print result.

The paper feeding unit 126 holds a recording medium for printing, and supplies the recording medium to the printing unit 125 under the control of the CPU 121 . In the present embodiment, the paper feed unit 126 holds and supplies a recording medium (here, paper) other than disk media, which will be described later. It is also assumed that the sheet feeding unit 126 is an ASF (Auto Sheet Feeder). Note that the paper feed unit 126 may not be an ASF, and may be composed of a plurality of paper feed units.

The disk media supply unit 127 holds a recording medium for printing, and supplies the recording medium to the printing unit 125 under the control of the CPU 121 . In this embodiment, the disc media supply unit 127 is a disk-shaped recording medium and holds and supplies disc media capable of storing information. Note that disk media are, for example, CDs (Compact Discs), DVDs, BDs (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Discs), and the like. In this embodiment, the disc media supply unit 127 holds a tray (dis-media tray) for storing disc media, but is not limited to this form. That is, the configuration may be such that the disc medium is set directly in the communication device 120 without using the disc media tray.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the appearance of the dis-media tray. A user sets and fixes a disk medium to be printed on a disk medium setting position 401 on the disk medium tray 400 . Then, the user inserts the disc media tray 400 into the disc media supply section 127 using the alignment mark 402 . Specifically, the user inserts the disc media tray 400 to a position where the alignment mark (not shown) attached to the disc media supply unit 127 and the alignment mark 402 match. When the disc media tray 400 is properly inserted into the disc media supply unit 127, the communication device 120 can perform disc media printing, which will be described later.

An operation unit 128 is an interface for receiving input from a user, and is configured by a physical keyboard, buttons, touch panel, and the like. Note that in the present embodiment, the communication device 120 receives an input of information on the screen displayed on the display unit 131, an instruction to continue printing, and the like from the user via the operation unit 128. FIG.

The paper detection unit 129 detects paper held in the paper feed unit 126 using a known detection method, and determines whether paper is held in the paper feed unit 126 .

The disk media detection unit 130 detects the disk media held by the disk media detection unit 130 using a known detection method, and determines whether or not the disk media is held by the disk media detection unit 130 .

The display unit 131 includes an LED, an LCD, and the like, and displays data and notifies the state of the communication device 120 . The communication device 120 is provided with a soft keyboard having keys such as a numeric input key, a mode setting key, an enter key, a cancel key, and a power key. input may be accepted. That is, at least a part of the display unit 131 and the operation unit 128 may be integrated. For example, screen output and user operation reception may be performed on the same screen.

Note that the user can register media information in the communication device 120 via the operation unit 128 and the display unit 131 . Registration of media information is processing for registering which medium (recording medium) is set in the communication device 120 . When media information is registered, the registered information is stored in RAM 123 . By referring to the registered information, the communication device 120 can recognize which medium is set, that is, which medium can be used for printing.

Note that the user can also set whether or not the communication device 120 permits disk media printing (permission setting) via the operation unit 128 and the display unit 131 . The setting information is also stored in the RAM 123 in the same manner as the registration information of the media information. As will be described later with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, by using the remote UI function, the user can register media information and perform You can set permissions. The remote UI function is a function that enables the terminal device 110 to remotely operate the communication device 120 by displaying a screen for operating the communication device 120 .

Further, in the present embodiment, the communication device 120 uses a “disc media printing” printing method for printing on disc media, and a printing method for printing on recording media other than disc media (such as paper). A certain "paper media printing" can be performed. When the terminal device 110 causes the communication device 120 to execute printing, the terminal device 110 transmits a print job. The print job includes information indicating which printing method is used to execute the printing. This information is, for example, print setting information.

In addition, with the increase in network-compatible devices such as communication devices and terminal devices, communication protocols between devices on the network, device discovery mechanisms, device installation mechanisms, and printing service specifications are becoming standardized. It is Examples of standardized communication protocols (standard protocols) include communication protocols such as IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) and WSD (Web Services on Devices). Furthermore, communication protocols other than standard protocols (non-standard protocols) include, for example, communication protocols unique to printer vendors. In this embodiment, the screen displayed on the terminal device 110 in printing and the format of information transmitted and received by the terminal device 110 and the communication device 120 differ depending on the protocol used. Since the print job transmitted by the terminal device 110 includes information indicating which communication protocol was used, the communication device 120 that receives the print job refers to the information and It is possible to grasp the communication protocol used.

A method for executing printing using a standard protocol will be described. First, the terminal device 110 accepts an operation from a user in a state in which image/document data to be printed is specified, and a predetermined printer driver (standard printer driver) for executing printing by the communication device 120 using a standard protocol. driver). Thereafter, the terminal device 110 requests the communication device 120 to notify the media information, which will be described later, acquires the media information, and displays a print setting screen corresponding to the acquired media information. After that, the terminal device 110 accepts input of print settings from the user, and when printing is instructed, the terminal device 110 issues image/document data to be printed and a print job based on the accepted print settings. Send a print job to device 120 . As a result, printing using the standard protocol is executed. It should be noted that once the standard driver is installed, it is not necessary to execute the process again. That is, in the next printing, the user can execute printing using the standard protocol by activating the installed standard driver. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 110 requests media information notification every time a standard driver is activated, acquires media information, and displays a print setting screen corresponding to the acquired media information. This is because the media information is information corresponding to the media currently held by the communication device 120 and is information that may change. In the standard protocol printing, when the received print job includes "12 cm*12 cm" as the media size information, "disc" as the media type information, and "disc" as the supply unit information, the communication device 120 Execute disc media printing. Further, the communication device 120 executes paper media printing when contents other than "disc" are set as the media type information in the received print job and "ASF" is set as the supply unit information. .

Next, a method of executing printing using a non-standard protocol will be described. First, the terminal device 110 accepts an operation from a user in a state in which image/document data to be printed is specified, and a predetermined printer driver (non-standard printer driver) for executing printing by the communication device 120 using a non-standard protocol. standard driver). A non-standard driver is a printer driver unique to a printer vendor, and a printer driver unique to each model of the communication device 120 . It should be noted that the terminal device 110 acquires information (function information) regarding functions executable by the communication device 120 when the non-standard driver is installed. Then, the terminal device 110 displays a print setting screen capable of displaying options corresponding to functions executable by the communication device 120 . After that, the terminal device 110 accepts input of print settings from the user, and when printing is instructed, the terminal device 110 issues image/document data to be printed and a print job based on the accepted print settings. Send a print job to communication device 120 . As a result, printing using the non-standard protocol is executed. It should be noted that once the non-standard driver is installed and the communication device is selected, there is no need to execute those processes again. That is, in the next printing, the user can execute printing using the non-standard protocol by activating the installed non-standard driver. In this embodiment, the terminal device 110 acquires function information when installing a non-standard driver. That is, the terminal device 110 does not acquire function information each time the non-standard driver is activated. This is because the function information is information about functions that can be executed by the communication device 120 as described above, and is information that is unlikely to change.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing processing (media information registration processing) in which the terminal device 110 registers information about media set in the paper feeding unit 126 of the communication device 120 in this embodiment. Through the media information registration process, the communication device 120 can grasp which media are set in the paper feed unit 126 . Note that the processing executed by each device in this sequence diagram is realized by the CPU of each device reading various programs stored in the memory of each device into the RAM of each device and executing them. It should be noted that this sequence diagram is started in a state where the browser application is activated by the terminal device 110 and the remote UI function is being executed. It should be noted that the terminal device 110 performs the remote UI function when, for example, the IP address of the communication device to be operated is input to the browser application, or when the remote UI function execution button on the screen displayed by the printer driver is pressed. is executable.

First, in S201, the user 200 performs an operation on the terminal device 110 to execute media information registration processing. Specifically, an operation is performed to display a screen (media information registration screen) corresponding to the media information registration process on the display unit 116 .

Subsequently, in S202, the terminal device 110 requests information for displaying a media information registration screen from the communication device 120 based on the accepted operation.

Subsequently, in S<b>203 , the communication device 120 transmits to the terminal device 110 information for displaying the media information registration screen held in the memory such as the ROM 122 and the RAM 123 .

Subsequently, in S204, terminal device 110 uses the information received from communication device 120 in S203 to display a media information registration screen on display unit 116 via the browser application.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a media information registration screen. A screen title 302 , a media size 303 , and a media type 304 are displayed on the media information registration screen 301 . A media size 303 indicates the size of media set in the paper feed unit 126 , and a media type 304 indicates the type of media set in the paper feed unit 126 . The user can select, for example, “A4”, “4×6”, “12 cm×12 cm”, “postcard”, “letter”, etc. as the setting contents of the media size 303 . The user can select types such as "glossy paper", "matte paper", "matte paper", and "plain paper" as the setting contents of the media type 304, for example. The user 200 arbitrarily changes the information entered in the media size 303 and the media type 304 by performing a media information registration operation, which will be described later. can be changed. A decision button 305 is a button that is pressed when input is completed. When the enter button 305 is pressed, the terminal device 110 records the input information in the RAM 113 . The example shown in FIG. 3 shows a screen in which A4 is entered as the media size and glossy paper is entered as the media type.

Subsequently, in S205, the user 200 performs a media information registration operation while confirming the media information registration screen. The user 200 inputs arbitrary information in the media size 303 and media type 304, and presses the decision button 305 when the input is completed.

Subsequently, in S206, the terminal device 110 notifies the communication device 120 of the media information generated based on the media information registration operation.

Subsequently, in S207, the communication device 120 saves the received media information in a memory such as the RAM 123, and registers the media information.

In this way, the user 200 can perform media information registration processing by remote control via the terminal device 110 by using the remote UI function. Also, by using the remote UI function, the user 200 can register media information even in the communication device 120 that does not have an operation unit or a display unit, for example. Note that the user 200 can also execute the media information registration process by directly operating the communication device 120 when setting a paper feed tray, for example, without using the remote UI function.

Further, the user 200 can set whether or not to allow the communication device 120 to perform disc media printing, which will be described later, by performing a similar operation using the remote UI function. Specifically, in S201, the user 200 performs an operation on the terminal device 110 for setting whether or not to permit disc media printing. As a result, in S204, a screen (permission setting screen) for setting whether or not to permit disk media printing is displayed on the display unit 116 as shown in FIG. enter any settings. That is, the user 200 inputs a setting as to whether or not disk media printing is permitted. Then, in S<b>206 , the terminal device 110 transmits setting information based on the input received from the user 200 to the communication device 120 . The communication device 120 then determines whether or not to execute disk media printing according to the received setting information. This completes the permission setting for disk media printing. It should be noted that the above setting may be applied only to disk media printing using a standard protocol.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a process in which the terminal device 110 causes the communication device 120 to execute printing in this embodiment. Note that the processing executed by each device in this sequence diagram is realized by the CPU of each device reading various programs stored in the memory of each device into the RAM of each device and executing them. In the following description, it is assumed that communication between devices is executed using a standard protocol.

The terminal device 110 appearing in the description of FIG. 2 and the terminal device 110 appearing in the description of FIG. 5 may be different terminal devices. That is, registration of media information and transmission of print jobs may be performed by different terminal devices. Note that this sequence diagram starts after the user 200 operates the terminal device 110 to select image data to be printed by the communication device 120 .

First, in S<b>501 , the user 200 performs a print setting screen display operation on the terminal device 110 to display the print setting screen on the display unit 116 .

Subsequently, in S502, the terminal device 110 requests the communication device 120 to notify the media information based on the accepted display operation of the print setting screen. This is because, for example, in print setting processing using a standard protocol, options for print setting information that the user can set correspond to media information received from the communication device 120 .

Subsequently, in S503, the communication device 120 performs media information notification determination in response to the received media information notification request. The media information notification determination is a process for specifying media information to be notified to the terminal device 110 . The media information notification determination will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing media information notification determination processing executed by the communication device 120 . The processing shown in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 121 reading various programs stored in a memory such as the ROM 122 into the RAM 123 and executing them. Further, since the processing shown in this flowchart corresponds to the processing of S503, it is started when the processing of S502 is completed.

First, in S<b>601 , the CPU 121 receives a media information notification request from the terminal device 110 .

Subsequently, in S<b>602 , the CPU 121 determines whether or not to transmit disc media information to the terminal device 110 . Specifically, for example, the CPU 121 makes this determination by determining whether the communication device 120 is compatible with disk media printing. Whether or not the communication device 120 supports disk media printing is determined, for example, by information on the mechanical mechanism of the communication device 120, information on the destination, information on the model of the communication device 120, and whether disk media printing is permitted by the above-described permission setting. It is specified by setting information or the like indicating whether or not. The CPU 121 supports disc media printing when the communication device 120 has a mechanical configuration (for example, a disc media supply unit) and functions capable of executing disc media printing, or when disc media printing is permitted by the user. It is determined that That is, the CPU 121 determines to transmit the disc media information to the terminal device 110, and performs the processing of S603. On the other hand, when the communication device 120 does not have a mechanical configuration or function capable of executing disk media printing, or when the user does not permit disk media printing, the CPU 121 determines whether the communication device 120 is compatible with disk media printing. determine that it is not. That is, the CPU 121 determines not to transmit disc media information to the terminal device 110, and performs the processing of S604. Even if the communication device 120 has a mechanical configuration and functions that enable disk media printing, the CPU 121 does not allow the communication device 120 to perform disk media printing if disk media printing is not permitted by the user. Determine that it is not compatible. Note that the disc media information is information for displaying setting contents related to disc media printing as options on the print setting screen 701 . In this embodiment, the setting contents related to disc media printing are at least one of media size information of "12 cm*12 cm", media type information of "disc", and supply section information of "disc".

In S603, the CPU 121 notifies the terminal device 110 of the paper medium information and the disk medium information. In this embodiment, at this time, the CPU 121 determines to notify the terminal device 110 of the disc media information regardless of whether disc media is set in the disc media supply unit 127 or not.

In S604, the CPU 121 notifies the terminal device 110 of the paper medium information. That is, the CPU 121 does not notify the terminal device 110 of disc media information.

After completing S603 and S604, the CPU 121 performs the process of S504 and notifies the terminal device 110 of the media information according to the notification content determined in S603 and S604.

As described above, for example, in the print setting process using the standard protocol, options corresponding to the media information notified to the terminal device 110 are displayed on the print setting screen. Further, for example, in print setting processing using a standard protocol, normally, the communication device sends only the paper media information registered in the media information registration processing, that is, information about the media set in the paper feed unit to the terminal device. Notify 110. However, in the process of registering media information, there are cases where information about disc media is not registered. This is because the media information registration process is a process to be executed in order to allow the communication device to grasp the currently set media, but disk media are rarely set in advance in the communication device. Specifically, due to restrictions on the mechanical configuration, the communication device is configured to accept setting of the disc media after receiving a print job corresponding to disc media printing. Therefore, for example, in print setting processing using a standard protocol, the communication device may not be able to notify the terminal device 110 of disc media information as media information. As a result, there is a possibility that the setting contents related to disk media printing may not be displayed as options on the print setting screen, and the communication device may not be able to execute disk media printing.

Therefore, in the notification process of S504, the communication apparatus 120, which is the communication apparatus of the present embodiment, notifies the terminal apparatus 110 of not only the information registered in the media information registration process but also the disc media information. As a result, the print setting screen 701 can display setting contents related to disk media printing as options. As a result, the terminal device 110 can cause the printer 300 to execute a print job related to disk media printing. In addition, the CPU 121 notifies the terminal device 110 of disc media information depending on whether disc media printing is supported. For example, the CPU 121 does not transmit disc media information to the terminal device 110 when the communication device 120 does not support disc media printing. Accordingly, the CPU 121 can reduce the options displayed on the print setting screen 701, and can improve the user's convenience when making print settings.

Note that the determination in S602 may be performed by, for example, determining whether or not paper is set in the paper feed unit 126 . In this case, the CPU 121 uses the paper detection unit 129 to detect the paper set in the paper feed unit 126 . The CPU 121 determines that the paper is set in the paper feed unit 126 when the paper is detected. That is, the CPU 121 determines not to transmit disc media information to the terminal device 110, and performs the processing of S604. This is because the presence of paper in the paper feed unit 126 means that there is a high possibility that paper media printing will be performed instead of disk media printing. On the other hand, when no paper is detected, the CPU 121 determines that paper is not set in the paper feed unit 126 . That is, the CPU 121 determines to transmit the disc media information to the terminal device 110, and performs the processing of S603. This is because when there is no paper in the paper feed unit 126, there is a possibility that both paper medium printing and disk medium printing will be performed.

Also, the determination in S602 may be performed by determining whether or not the communication device 120 is preparing for disk media printing, for example. In this case, the CPU 121 uses the disc medium detection section 130 to detect whether or not the disc medium is set in the disc medium supply section 127 . Also, it detects whether or not a cover (opening/closing member) for opening/closing an insertion slot into which a disk medium or a disk medium tray is inserted into the disk media supply unit 127 is positioned at an open position where the insertion slot is opened. . The CPU 121 determines that disk media printing is being prepared when it is detected that a disk medium is set or the cover is positioned at the open position. That is, the CPU 121 determines to transmit the disc media information to the terminal device 110, and performs the processing of S603. This is because the fact that the communication device 120 is preparing for disk media printing means that there is a high possibility that the disk media will be used for printing. On the other hand, the CPU 121 determines that disk media printing is not prepared when it is detected that no disk media is set or the cover is positioned at the closed position where the insertion port is closed. That is, the CPU 121 determines not to transmit disc media information to the terminal device 110, and performs the processing of S604. This is because the lack of preparation for disk media printing means that the possibility of printing using disk media is low.

Note that the CPU 121 may execute a combination of the determinations described above in S602. In this case, for example, the CPU 121 performs the processing of S604 when it determines not to transmit the disc media information in all of the combined determinations. If the CPU 121 determines to transmit the disc media information in any of the combined determinations, the CPU 121 performs the processing of S604.

With the above configuration, the CPU 121 can control notification of disc media information according to the device configuration and settings of the communication device 120 and the states of the paper feed unit 126 and the disc media supply unit 127. .

The CPU 121 may notify the disc media information and the paper media information each time it receives a media information notification request from the terminal device 110, thereby omitting the media information notification determination in S503. In this case, the options related to disk media printing are displayed every time on the print setting screen (701), and even though the user desires disk media printing, the option related to disk media printing is not available due to an erroneous determination or the like. You can prevent it from being displayed.

Also, in the above description, a form in which information registered by the media information registration process is notified as media information to be transmitted in response to a media information notification request has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this form. For example, if the communication device 120 has a function of detecting a medium set in itself, the CPU 121 detects the medium set in itself and notifies information about the detected medium. good. Even in this case, when the CPU 121 determines to transmit the disc media information to the terminal device 110, the disc media information is sent to the terminal device 110 regardless of whether disc media is set in the disc media supply unit 127. Send.

Subsequently, in S504, the communication device 120 notifies the terminal device 110 of the media information based on the media information notification determination result in S503. Specifically, when the communication device 120 determines that “disk media information is not to be transmitted” in media information notification determination, the communication device 120 sends only media information (paper media information) related to the media set in the paper feeding unit 126 to the terminal. Notify device 110 . That is, only the information corresponding to the content registered by the media information registration process is notified to the terminal device 110 . On the other hand, the communication device 120 notifies the terminal device 110 of the disc media information in addition to the paper media information when it is determined to “transmit the disc media information” in the media information notification determination. In addition, when it is determined to "transmit disc media information" in the media information notification determination, the communication device 120 notifies the terminal device 110 of only the disc media information and does not notify the terminal device 110 of the paper media information. It may be a form. Especially when it is determined that "disc media information is to be sent" due to disc media being set in the disc media supply unit 127, there is a possibility that disc media printing will be performed instead of paper media printing. Because it is expensive. In S602, the communication device 120 performs a combination of the above-described determinations, and depending on the determination result, "disc media information is not transmitted", "disc media information is transmitted", and "disc media information only is transmitted". You may specify three patterns of "do". Specifically, for example, when it is determined that a disc medium is set in the disc media supply unit 127, it may be determined that "only disc media information is to be transmitted", and other determinations may be made in the same manner as described above. good. Then, when the CPU 121 determines that "only the disc media information is to be transmitted", in S504, only the disc media information is transmitted.

Subsequently, in S505, the terminal device 110 displays the print setting screen on the display unit 116 using the media information notified in S504.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a print setting screen according to this embodiment. The print setting screen is a screen for inputting setting information included in the print job transmitted in step S507. When receiving a print job, the communication device 120 executes printing based on the content of the setting information included in the print job (that is, the content set via the print setting screen).

The print setting screen 701 includes a title 702 and setting items 703-708. The user 200 can change/set the contents of each item corresponding to the setting items 703 to 708 using the operation unit 115 . Options for the contents of the setting items 703 to 708 correspond to the media information notified in S504. That is, when the media information includes only paper media information, the user 200 can select only the contents registered in the communication device 120 as the setting contents of the setting items 703-708. On the other hand, if the media information includes paper media information and disk media information, the user 200 sets the contents registered in the communication device 120 as the setting contents of the setting items 703 to 708, and the contents related to disk media printing. Setting contents can be selected.

A media size 703 indicates setting details of the size of a recording medium used in printing executed by the communication apparatus 120 . The user 200 can select, for example, "A4", "4x6", "12 cm*12 cm", "postcard", "letter", etc. as the setting contents of the media size 703 . A media type 704 indicates setting contents of the type of recording medium used in printing executed by the communication apparatus 120 . As the setting contents of the media type 704, for example, types such as "plain paper", "photo paper", and "disk" can be selected. The options for the media size 703 and media type 704 (options on the print setting screen) may be different from the options for the media size 303 and media type 304 (options on the media information registration screen). For example, media type 304 may display more detailed options than media type 704 . In such a case, the communication device 120 notifies the terminal device 110 of information obtained by converting the contents registered as the media size 303 and the media type 304 into the contents of the media size 703 and the media type 704 as media information. Specifically, for example, the communication device 120 converts information indicating that “glossy paper” or “matte paper” has been registered as the media type 304 into “photo paper” and notifies the terminal device 110 of the do.

A print surface 705 indicates whether the printing to be executed by the communication device 120 is single-sided printing or double-sided printing. The user 200 can select “single-sided” indicating single-sided printing and “double-sided” indicating double-sided printing as the setting contents of the printing surface 705 . The print quality 706 indicates the setting details of the printing finish to be executed by the communication apparatus 120 . The user 200 can select a print quality such as “standard” or “high quality” as the setting content of the print quality 706 . A color 707 indicates whether printing to be executed by the communication apparatus 120 is color printing or monochrome printing. The user 200 can select color settings such as “color” and “monochrome” as the setting contents of the color 707 . A supply unit 708 indicates a supply source of recording media used in printing executed by the communication apparatus 120 . The user 200 can select “ASF” indicating the paper feeding unit 126, “disk” indicating the disk media supplying unit 127, and the like as the setting contents of the supply unit 708. FIG. It should be noted that when the paper feeding section 126 includes a plurality of paper feeding units, the user 200 can select each of the plurality of paper feeding units. Further, the user 200 can select “automatic” in each of the setting items 703 to 708, which indicates that the communication device 120 automatically selects setting values by a method described later.

As described above, for example, in media information notification determination, if it is determined that "disc media information is not transmitted", only the information (paper media information) corresponding to the content registered by the media information registration process is sent to the terminal. Device 110 is notified. When the media size information included in the paper media information is "A4" and the media type information is "photo paper", the user 200 selects "A4" as the media size and "photo paper" as the media type. "ASF" can be selected as the supply unit. In addition, as described above, the user 200 can further select "automatic" in each item. On the other hand, for example, when it is determined to "transmit disc media information" in media information notification determination, which will be described later, the disc media information is notified to the terminal device 110 in addition to the paper media information. Therefore, in this case, if the paper media information has the above content, the user 200 supplies "A4" and "12 cm*12 cm" as media sizes, and "photo paper" and "disk" as media types. "ASF" and "Disk" can be selected as the part. In addition, as described above, the user 200 can further select "automatic" in each item.

The setting items that can be set on the print setting screen 701 and the contents that can be selected for each setting item are not particularly limited. For example, if the communication device 120 does not support double-sided printing, only "single-sided" can be set for the printing side 705. Therefore, the printing side 705 may not be displayed, or only "single-sided" can be selected. It is good also as a structure which carries out. In addition, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which setting items with only "automatic" content options are not displayed. Also, the layout of the print setting screen 701 is not particularly limited. For example, the title 702 may not be displayed. Also, for example, a form in which some items are determined in conjunction with each other may be adopted. For example, when "disc" is selected as the media type, "12 cm*12 cm" may be automatically selected as the media size, or options other than "12 cm*12 cm" may be disabled.

Further, the setting contents such as the media size 703 and the media type 704 are automatically determined by the terminal device 110 based on the media information acquired from the communication device 120 in S502. A configuration in which they are not displayed may be adopted. This simplifies user operations in inputting print setting information.

Note that S505 may be omitted depending on the specifications of the print application installed in the terminal device 110 or the like. That is, display of the print setting screen 701 may be omitted. This is because, for example, in a use case where the contents of setting items are fixed, it is not necessary for the user to change or set the contents of the setting items.

Subsequently, in S506, the user 200 inputs print setting information via the print setting screen displayed in S505, and instructs execution of printing.

Subsequently, in S507, the terminal device 110 transmits to the communication device 120 a print job including print setting information corresponding to the contents of the setting items 703 to 708 input in S506 and the image data selected by the user 200. do.

Subsequently, in S<b>508 , the communication device 120 executes printing according to the content of the print job received from the terminal device 110 . Details of this process will be described later with reference to FIG.

In this embodiment, the communication device 120 performs media information notification in S504, but the timing of media information notification is not particularly limited. For example, when the terminal device 110 and the communication device 120 are first connected via the communication units 114 and 124, the media information notification may be performed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing print processing executed by the communication device 120 in this embodiment. The processing shown in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 121 reading various programs stored in a memory such as the ROM 122 into the RAM 123 and executing them. Further, since the processing shown in this flowchart corresponds to the processing of S508, it is started when the processing of S507 is completed.

First, in S<b>801 , the CPU 121 receives a print job from the terminal device 110 .

Subsequently, in S802, the CPU 121 analyzes the received print job. In this embodiment, the print job includes print setting information corresponding to the contents of setting items 703 to 708 set via the print setting screen 701 and image data. Therefore, specifically, the CPU 121 acquires print setting information and image data included in the print job.

In S<b>803 , the CPU 121 identifies a printing method when executing printing based on the print job based on the print setting information obtained by the analysis in S<b>802 . For example, if the media size is "A4" and the media type is "photo paper", the contents of each item do not correspond to the settings for disk media printing, so the CPU 121 specifies paper media printing for A4 photo paper. do.

However, for example, depending on the OS installed in the terminal device 110, the model of the terminal device 110, or the application that instructs printing, the print setting information may not include information regarding any of the setting items. Also, as described above, the media size must be set to "12 cm*12 cm" in order to execute disc media printing. Also in paper media printing, square paper having a size of "12 cm*12 cm" may be used. That is, for example, if the print setting information includes media size information of "12 cm*12 cm" but does not include media type information or supply unit information, both disk media printing and paper media printing can be specified. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the print setting information includes specific information (here, information indicating that the media size is "12 cm*12 cm"), the print method specific process is executed. The print method specifying process will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

The CPU 121 determines using a table (hereinafter referred to as a correspondence table) that associates the printing method to be used, the media type information, and the supply unit information.

FIG. 9 is an example of a correspondence table used when the media size information included in the print setting information is information indicating "12 cm*12 cm". In this embodiment, items of the media type 901 include "none/auto", "disk", and "plain paper/photo paper". In this embodiment, items of the supply unit 902 include “none/auto”, “disc” indicating the disk media supply unit 127, and “ASF” indicating the paper supply unit 126. FIG. Note that "none" is an item that is referred to when the print setting information does not include media type information or supply unit information. The CPU 121 identifies the printing method described in the table shown in FIG. 9 based on the media type information and the supply unit information included in the acquired print setting information.

Further, as printing methods described in the table shown in FIG. 9, there are "disc media printing" and "paper media printing". Since disc media printing is a printing method for printing on disc media, the print settings are "disc" for the media type and "disc" for the supply unit. Therefore, for example, when the media type information included in the print setting information indicates "disc" and the supply unit information indicates "disc", the CPU 121 refers to the pattern 907 in the table shown in FIG. Identify disk media printing as . Also, since paper media printing is a printing method that prints on recording media (paper, etc.) other than disk media, the print settings should be "plain paper/photo paper" for the media type and "ASF" for the supply unit. becomes. Therefore, for example, when the media type information included in the print setting information indicates "plain paper/photo paper" and the supply unit information indicates "ASF", the CPU 121 refers to the pattern 911 and selects the disk as the printing method. Identify media printing.

If one of the information is "none/auto", CPU 121 specifies the printing method corresponding to the other information. That is, when the other information is information indicating "disk", the CPU 121 refers to the pattern 904 or pattern 906 to specify disk media printing as the printing method. If the other information is information indicating "plain paper/photo paper" or "ASF", the CPU 121 refers to pattern 905 or pattern 909 to specify paper media printing as the printing method.

If any information is "none/automatic", the CPU 121 refers to the pattern 903 and specifies that the printing method determination process is to be performed. In the printing method determination process, the CPU 121 uses the paper detection unit 129 to determine whether paper is present in the paper feed unit 126 . When the CPU 121 determines that there is paper in the paper feed unit 126, the CPU 121 sets the content according to the media information of the communication device registered in S207 as the media type, determines the supply unit as "ASF", and specifies paper media printing. do. On the other hand, if the CPU 121 determines that there is no paper in the paper feed unit 126, the CPU 121 determines the media type as "disc" and the supply unit as "disc" as the printing method, and specifies disc media printing as the printing method. Here, the CPU 121 may use the disc media detection unit 130 to determine whether or not there is disc media in the disc media supply unit 127, and specify the printing method based on the determination result.

Further, when the information indicating the media type is information indicating "disc" and the information indicating the supply unit is information indicating "ASF", the CPU 121 refers to the pattern 908 to determine the printing method described above. Identify what to do. Even if the information indicating the media type is information indicating "plain paper/photo paper" and the information indicating the supply unit is information indicating "disc", the CPU 121 refers to the pattern 910 to perform the printing method described above. It specifies that the determination process of is performed in the same way. This is because there is no correspondence between the information indicating the media type and the information indicating the supply unit, so it is not possible to uniquely specify which of disk media printing and paper media printing should be adopted. Note that when the information indicating the media type and the information indicating the supply unit do not correspond to each other, as in the patterns 908 and 910, the CPU 121 does not execute the printing method determination process and terminates the job as an error. can be Alternatively, it is also possible to set in advance which printing method is preferentially specified, and specify the printing method based on the setting.

By adopting the above-described form, even if the media size information included in the print setting information received from the terminal device 110 can be used for both disk media printing and paper media printing, media type information and supply The printing method can be specified based on the part information.

In addition, in the present embodiment, by adopting the form as described above, even if the information of any of the setting items such as the media type information and the supply unit information is not acquired, or if "automatic" is set, Also, the printing method can be specified based on the result of detection by the paper detection unit 129 .

Also, even if the set contents do not correspond due to a user's input error or the like, the printing method can be specified based on the detection result of the paper detection unit 129 or the disk medium detection unit 130 .

Subsequently, in S804, the CPU 121 performs printing based on the printing method specified in S803. Specifically, when disc media printing is specified, the CPU 121 first displays a screen on the display unit 131 to prompt the user to set disc media in the disc media supply unit 127 . When the user sets a disc medium, printing is performed on the disc medium supplied from the disc medium supply unit 127 based on the print job. When the CPU 121 specifies paper media printing, the CPU 121 performs printing based on the print job on a recording medium supplied from the paper feeding unit 126 .

Subsequently, in S805, the CPU 121 determines whether an error has occurred in the printer 300 during printing. If the CPU 121 determines that no error has occurred, the process advances to step S806 to determine whether printing has been completed. ends the process.

On the other hand, if the CPU 121 determines in S805 that an error has occurred, the process advances to S807 to determine whether the error that has occurred is an error that the terminal device 110 does not support. The details of the error notification determination process will be described later. When the CPU 121 determines that the error is not supported by the terminal device 110, the process proceeds to S808. In S808, the CPU 121 causes the display unit 131 of the communication device 120 to display a screen (error notification screen) indicating that an error has occurred during printing, and does not display the error notification screen on the display unit 116 of the terminal device 110. . That is, the CPU 121 does not transmit information indicating that an error has occurred during printing to the terminal device 110 .

On the other hand, if the CPU 121 determines in S<b>807 that the error is not handled by the terminal device 110 , the process proceeds to S<b>809 to display an error notification screen on both the display unit 131 and the display unit 116 . At this time, the CPU 121 transmits information indicating that an error has occurred during printing to the terminal device 110 in order to cause the display unit 116 to display. Note that the error notification screen displayed in S808 and S809 may display not only that an error has occurred during printing, but also, for example, an operation method for canceling the error that has occurred.

Subsequently, in S810, the CPU 121 receives an operation from the user for canceling the error that has occurred. An operation for canceling an error that has occurred is, for example, an operation to replace ink if the error that has occurred is an out-of-ink error. Also, if the error that has occurred is a no-paper error or no-disk error, the operation is to replenish the recording medium corresponding to the printing method specified in S803. If the error is resolved as a result, the CPU 121 resumes printing that was interrupted due to the occurrence of the error, and performs the process of S805 again.

Here, the error notification determination processing in S807 will be described in detail. An error that the terminal device 110 does not handle (hereinafter referred to as an unhandled error) is, for example, an error specific to disk media printing. This is because, when communication between devices is performed using a standard protocol, even if an error peculiar to disk media printing is notified to the terminal device 110, the terminal device 110 displays a screen corresponding to the error peculiar to disk media printing. This is because it is not possible to The reason why the terminal device 110 cannot display a screen corresponding to an error peculiar to disc media printing will be described later.

Errors peculiar to disc media printing are, specifically, "no disc error", "no tray error", "tray ejection error", and the like. “No disc error” indicates that the disc media supply unit 127 does not have any disc media. “No tray error” indicates a state in which a disc media tray is not inserted into the disc media supply unit 127 . "Tray ejection error" indicates a state in which the tray cannot be ejected because the cover of the tray insertion slot is closed. Errors not unique to disk media printing include, for example, a "no paper error" indicating that there is no medium in the paper feed unit 126, and an "no ink error" indicating that the printer 300 has no ink.

Specifically, in S807, the CPU 121 first determines whether or not the printing method in the printing currently being executed is disk media printing. The CPU 121 makes this determination based on the type of printing method specified in S803 and various information (for example, supply unit information and media type information) included in the received print setting information. If the CPU 121 determines that the printing method in the printing that is currently being executed is not disk media printing, it determines that the currently occurring error is not an unhandled error. On the other hand, when the CPU 121 determines that the printing method in the currently-executed printing is disk media printing, it determines whether the currently occurring error is an error specific to disk media printing. The CPU 121 makes this determination based on error list information held in the ROM 122 of the communication device 120 . When the CPU 121 determines that the currently occurring error is not an error peculiar to disk media printing, the CPU 121 determines that the currently occurring error is not an unhandled error. On the other hand, when the CPU 121 determines that the currently occurring error is an error peculiar to disk media printing, the CPU 121 determines that the currently occurring error is an unhandled error.

After the process of S807, as described above, the CPU 121 causes the display unit 131 or the display unit 116 to display an error notification screen based on the determination result of S807.

The reason why the error notification screen is not displayed on the display unit 116 when the error that has occurred is an unhandled error will be described.

In order to display the error notification screen on the display unit 116, it is necessary to transmit to the terminal device 110 information indicating that an unhandled error has occurred during printing. However, since the terminal device 110 does not support the display of a screen for notifying that an unhandled error has occurred, the error notification screen cannot be displayed even if the information is received. That is, if the error that has occurred is an unhandled error, the information indicating that the unhandled error has occurred during printing is wasted. Therefore, as described above, by not displaying the error notification screen on the display unit 116 when the error that has occurred is an unhandled error, the information indicating the occurrence of the unhandled error is not wasted. It is possible to suppress

Further, for example, if the unhandled error is a no-disk error, the terminal device 110 receives information indicating that a no-disk error has occurred, depending on the specifications of the installed OS. None It may be recognized that an error has occurred. Also, for example, the communication device 120 does not distinguish between a no-disk error and a no-paper error, and outputs the same error information (information indicating that a no-media error has occurred) regardless of which error has occurred. Suppose that it is a form of transmission. In this case as well, depending on the specifications of the installed OS, the terminal device 110 may erroneously recognize that a no-paper error has occurred even though a no-disk error has occurred.

Note that the method for clearing errors specific to disk media printing is different from the method for clearing errors that occur in paper media printing. different from the screen shown. Therefore, if the terminal device 110 erroneously recognizes that a no-paper error has occurred even though a no-disk error has occurred, the error notification screen displayed on the display unit 131 and the display unit 116 is different from the error notification screen displayed in Therefore, as described above, by not displaying the error notification screen on the display unit 116 when the error that has occurred is an unhandled error, the correct screen is displayed only on the display unit 131, so that the user can Confusion can be suppressed.

Also, normally, only one disk medium can be set in the disk medium supply unit. Therefore, when disk media printing is performed continuously, when the communication device 120 completes printing on the first disk medium and tries to execute printing on the second and subsequent disk media, a no-media error occurs. You may realize that it has happened. In this embodiment, even if an error occurs during disk media printing, an error notification screen is not displayed on the terminal device 110, so that when disk media printing is performed continuously, a no-media error is notified. You can prevent it from being done. In the above description, the error notification screen is displayed only on the communication device 120 during disk media printing, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the error notification screen for notifying the no-media error may not be displayed on the communication device 120 either. Also, at this time, instead of the error notification screen for notifying the no-media error, a screen for prompting the user to set a new disk medium may be displayed.

Note that, for example, the CPU 121 switches the error notification method depending on whether the communication between devices is performed by a standard protocol or by a non-standard protocol supported by the communication device 120. Also good. In this case, for example, after S805, the CPU 121 determines whether the communication between the devices is performed according to the standard protocol or the non-standard protocol supported by the communication device 120 . When the CPU 121 determines that the communication between the devices is executed according to the standard protocol, the CPU 121 executes the processing from S807. On the other hand, when the CPU 121 determines that the communication between the devices is executed by the non-standard protocol supported by the communication device 120, the CPU 121 causes both the display unit 131 and the display unit 116 to display an error notification screen. . That is, information for notifying that an error has occurred in the communication device 120 is transmitted to the terminal device 110 . This is because when communication between devices is executed by a non-standard protocol supported by the communication device 120, the terminal device 110 recognizes error notification information and displays a screen corresponding to each error. This is because it can be displayed. That is, even if the error that has occurred is an error peculiar to disk media printing, it is possible to display a screen showing how to cancel the error.

With the configuration as described above, the convenience of disc media printing via the terminal device 110 can be improved.

(Other embodiments)
Note that the communication system of the present embodiment may include a server that relays communication between the terminal device 110 and the communication device 120, and performs media information notification determination, printing method specification processing, and error notification determination processing. The server concerned may perform. In this case, the server may acquire information necessary for performing these processes and determinations from the communication device 120 or the terminal device 110 as appropriate.

In the above-described embodiment, whether or not to notify the terminal device 110 of the disc media information is determined in the media information notification determination, but the present invention is not limited to this form. In other words, the media information to be determined for notification of media information may be information related to other media instead of disc media information as long as it is media information that cannot be registered in the media information registration process.

Note that in the above-described embodiment, the process of specifying the printing method is performed on the communication device 120 side, but the present invention is not limited to this form. That is, the print method specifying process may be performed on the terminal device 110 side, for example, when the print setting information is input by the user. In this case, if information about detection results by the paper detection unit 129 or the disk medium detection unit 130 is required for the printing method specifying process, the terminal device 110 acquires the information from the communication device 120 as appropriate. After completing the specification of the printing method, the terminal device 110 transmits information indicating the specified printing method to the communication device 120 .

In the above-described embodiment, the print setting screen 701 displays only options corresponding to media information, that is, information related to media held by the communication device 120. However, the present invention is not limited to this form. . For example, the terminal device 110 acquires information (function information) about the functions of the communication device 120 from the communication device 120, and displays not only the options corresponding to the media information but also the options corresponding to the function information on the print setting screen 701. may be displayed. Note that in printing using a standard protocol, the terminal device 110 may not be able to display options corresponding to function information on the print setting screen 701 depending on the type of OS installed in the terminal device 110 . That is, the terminal device 110 may be able to display only options corresponding to media information. In this embodiment, instead of transmitting function information corresponding to disc media printing, media information corresponding to disc media printing is transmitted as means for displaying options related to disc media printing on the print setting screen 701. . As a result, the terminal device 110 as described above can also display options related to disc media printing.

The above-described embodiments are also implemented by executing the following processes. That is, the software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads the program. This is the process to be executed. Also, the program may be executed by one computer or may be executed by interlocking a plurality of computers. Further, it is not necessary to implement all of the above-described processing by software, and part or all of the processing may be implemented by hardware such as ASIC. Also, the CPU is not limited to a single CPU that performs all the processing, and a plurality of CPUs may perform the processing while appropriately cooperating.

110 terminal device 120 communication device

Claims (28)

A printing device having a first holding unit capable of holding a disc-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information and a second holding unit capable of holding a second recording medium different from the first recording medium,
receiving means for receiving from a user a registration operation for registering the recording medium held by the second holding unit;
receiving means for receiving a request from a terminal device for the terminal device to obtain information from the printing device;
transmitting means for transmitting both information regarding the first recording medium and information regarding the second recording medium registered by the registration operation to the terminal device in response to the request being received;
printing means for executing printing on at least one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium based on print setting information received from the terminal device;
has
The printing means determines that the first recording medium or the second recording medium can be printed based on information transmitted from a printer driver of the terminal device using a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). A printing device characterized by: A printing device having a first holding unit capable of holding a disc-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information and a second holding unit capable of holding a second recording medium different from the first recording medium,
receiving means for receiving a request from a terminal device for the terminal device to obtain information from the printing device;
detection means for detecting whether the second recording medium is held by the second holding portion;
a transmitting means for transmitting both information regarding the first recording medium and information regarding the second recording medium detected by the detecting means to the terminal device in response to receiving the request;
printing means for executing printing on at least one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium based on print setting information received from the terminal device;
The printing means determines that the first recording medium or the second recording medium can be printed based on information transmitted from a printer driver of the terminal device using a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). A printing device characterized by: A printing device having a first holding unit capable of holding a disc-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information and a second holding unit capable of holding a second recording medium different from the first recording medium,
receiving means for receiving a request from a terminal device for the terminal device to obtain information from the printing device;
receiving means for receiving from a user a registration operation for registering the recording medium held by the second holding unit;
information about the first recording medium and the second recording registered by the registration operation among the plurality of second recording media that can be held by the second holding unit in response to the request being received; a transmission means for transmitting both pieces of information about a medium to the terminal device by communication using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol);
printing means for executing printing on at least one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium based on print setting information received from the terminal device;
The printing means determines that the first recording medium or the second recording medium can be printed based on information transmitted from a printer driver of the terminal device using a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). A printing device characterized by: When the second holding unit does not hold the second recording medium, the transmission means transmits both the information on the first recording medium and the information on the second recording medium to the terminal device, and performs the printing. 3. When the device holds the second recording medium, the information about the second recording medium is transmitted without transmitting the information of the first recording medium to the terminal device. The printing device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3. an opening/closing member that can be positioned at a closed position that closes an insertion opening for the first recording medium provided in the first holding portion and an open position that opens the insertion opening;
When the opening/closing member is positioned at the open position, the transmission means transmits both the information on the first recording medium and the information on the second recording medium to the terminal device, and the opening/closing member is positioned at the closed position. 5. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, when located, the information regarding the second recording medium is transmitted without transmitting the information regarding the first recording medium to the terminal device. . further comprising error notification means for notifying error information regarding an error that has occurred in the printing apparatus;
6. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a screen relating to the error information notified by said error notification means is displayed on said terminal device. The error notification means does not notify the terminal device of the error information when the error that has occurred in the printing device is an error related to printing using the first recording medium, and the error that has occurred in the printing device is 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein if the error is not related to printing using the first recording medium, the error information is notified to the terminal device. The error notification means does not notify the terminal device of the error information when the error that has occurred in the printing device is not compatible with the terminal device, and 8. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, if the error corresponds to the apparatus, the error information is notified to the terminal apparatus. The error notification means notifies the terminal device of the error information regardless of the content of the error occurring in the printing device when the communication between the printing device and the terminal device is not communication using a standard protocol. death,
whether or not to notify the terminal device of the error information according to the content of the error that occurred in the printing device when the communication between the printing device and the terminal device is communication using the standard protocol; 9. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that it determines . 10. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, further comprising display control means for displaying a screen regarding an error that has occurred in said printing apparatus on a display unit provided in said printing apparatus. Device. The print setting information includes at least one of size information about the size of the recording medium to be printed, type information about the type of the recording medium to be printed, and supply unit information about the supply unit that supplies the recording medium to be printed. 11. A printing device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising: In the printing means, the print setting information includes the size information as predetermined content, and the print setting information includes any one of the type information and the supply unit information. If not, executing printing on a recording medium that is one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium and that corresponds to information included in the print setting information among the type information and the supply unit information. 12. The printing device according to claim 11, characterized by: In the printing means, the print setting information includes the size information as predetermined content, the type information included in the print setting information does not correspond to the supply unit information, and the second holding unit 13. The printing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein printing is executed on the second recording medium when the second recording medium is held in the unit. The printing means is configured such that the print setting information includes the size information as predetermined content, the type information included in the print setting information does not correspond to the supply unit information, and the first holding 14. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein printing is executed on the first recording medium when the first recording medium is held in a unit. 15. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the print setting information is transmitted from the terminal apparatus according to IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). When the information about the first recording medium and the information about the second recording medium are transmitted, the first recording medium and the second recording medium are displayed so as to be selectable on a print setting screen of the terminal device. ,
16. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the print setting information received from the terminal device includes contents selected on a print setting screen in the terminal device. In addition to the information about the first recording medium and the information about the second recording medium, information about the printing device is further transmitted by the transmitting means,
When the information on the first recording medium, the information on the second recording medium, and the information on the printing device are transmitted, a recording medium corresponding to the information on the first recording medium, the second recording medium, and the printing device is selectably displayed on the screen for print settings on the terminal device,
17. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the print setting information received from the terminal device includes content selected on a print setting screen in the terminal device. transmitting information about the first recording medium and information about the second recording medium each time a predetermined program is started on the terminal device;
18. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the predetermined program is a program for executing communication using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol), which is a standard protocol. A function of transmitting information about functions executable by the printing device to the terminal device when a printer driver for executing communication using a non-standard protocol different from the predetermined program is installed in the terminal device. 19. A printing apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising information transmitting means. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the first recording medium is any one of CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc. 21. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the second recording medium is paper. 22. The information about the first recording medium and the information about the second recording medium are transmitted to the terminal device by communication using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). 10. A printing device according to claim 1. In the transmitted information about the first recording medium, display information for selecting the first recording medium as a recording medium to be used for printing is displayed on a print setting screen displayed on the terminal device. information used for
The transmitted information about the second recording medium is information used for displaying display information for selecting the second recording medium as a recording medium to be used for printing on the print setting screen. 23. A printing device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there is a Both information about the first recording medium and information about the second recording medium are transmitted to the terminal device regardless of whether the first recording medium is held in the first holding unit. 24. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-23. A program for operating a computer as each means of the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 24. A printing device and a terminal device having a first holding unit capable of holding a disc-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information and a second holding unit capable of holding a second recording medium different from the first recording medium A system comprising:
The printing device
receiving means for receiving a registration operation from a user for registering the recording medium held by the second holding unit;
receiving means for receiving a request from the terminal device for the terminal device to obtain information from the printing device;
transmitting means for transmitting both information regarding the first recording medium and information regarding the second recording medium registered by the registration operation to the terminal device in response to the request being received;
printing means for executing printing on at least one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium based on print setting information received from the terminal device;
The terminal device
display information for selecting the first recording medium as a recording medium to be used for printing, and the second recording medium, based on the information regarding the first recording medium and the information regarding the second recording medium registered by the registration operation; 2 display means for displaying display information for selecting a recording medium as a recording medium to be used for printing on a print setting screen;
The printing means determines that the first recording medium or the second recording medium can be printed based on information transmitted from a printer driver of the terminal device using a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). characterized system. A printing device and a terminal device having a first holding unit capable of holding a disc-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information and a second holding unit capable of holding a second recording medium different from the first recording medium A system comprising:
receiving means for receiving a request from a terminal device for the terminal device to obtain information from the printing device;
detection means for detecting whether the second recording medium is held by the second holding portion;
a transmitting means for transmitting both information regarding the first recording medium and information regarding the second recording medium detected by the detecting means to the terminal device in response to receiving the request;
printing means for executing printing on at least one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium based on print setting information received from the terminal device;
The terminal device
display information for selecting the first recording medium as a recording medium to be used for printing, based on information regarding the first recording medium and information regarding the second recording medium detected by the detecting means; 2 display means for displaying display information for selecting a recording medium as a recording medium to be used for printing on a print setting screen;
The printing means determines that the first recording medium or the second recording medium can be printed based on information transmitted from a printer driver of the terminal device using a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). characterized system. A printing device and a terminal device having a first holding unit capable of holding a disc-shaped first recording medium capable of storing information and a second holding unit capable of holding a second recording medium different from the first recording medium A system comprising:
receiving means for receiving a request from a terminal device for the terminal device to obtain information from the printing device;
receiving means for receiving from a user a registration operation for registering the recording medium held by the second holding unit;
information about the first recording medium and the second recording registered by the registration operation among the plurality of second recording media that can be held by the second holding unit in response to the request being received; a transmission means for transmitting both pieces of information about a medium to the terminal device by communication using IPP (Internet Printing Protocol);
printing means for executing printing on at least one of the second recording medium and the first recording medium based on print setting information received from the terminal device;
The terminal device
display information for selecting the first recording medium as a recording medium to be used for printing, and the second recording medium, based on the information regarding the first recording medium and the information regarding the second recording medium registered by the registration operation; 2 display means for displaying display information for selecting a recording medium as a recording medium to be used for printing on a print setting screen;
The printing means determines that the first recording medium or the second recording medium can be printed based on information transmitted from a printer driver of the terminal device using a protocol different from IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). characterized system.

Images